Unitarian Universalism Experience Paper

As the only white individual entering the church on Sunday I felt extremely out of place and very uncomfortable, at first. Upon entering the church, before I could even find a place to sit, the pastor came to welcome me and showed me a place to sit for the service. The pastor was very kind and so welcoming that my nervousness and worry started to vanish. Once I was seated and more people entered the church, I was treated as if I had always been there and was part of the group. Although I was the minority at the service I did feel very comfortable with my surroundings and with the people in attendance. The whole experience was very interesting and broadened my perspective on the African American culture.

On Monday, I went to the local Crossroads Baptist Church, located at 850 Edwards Ferry Rd NE, Leesburg, VA. This was my first time experience as I am Hindu and my parents never exposed me to any churches. Dr. Kenneth K. Baldwin was the pastor at the time I went. Luckily, I got the chance to speak with him after the service. After our brief conclusion, I realized that he had a great vision for his church and is leading it to success through his passion. I sensed his passion for preaching and religious beliefs as they were evident during the service. Despite this being my first visit to a church, I learned a lot of valuable things about churches and Christianity.

The people there were very welcoming and kind. The shook every single person hand and greeted them genially when they walked in. As I sat down, there was a countdown till when it begins. There were seats all around and in the center they had a stage, where there were people preparing to sing. They began their ceremony exactly at 8:30 with singing 3 songs. When we sang, everyone stood up for respect. Followed by that, the pastor recited a prayer with everyone to make this week better than the last. He welcomed everyone, including the people who are new, and told them more about what they do at Kennedy Road Tabernacle Church. The priest then talked about the Provision of Vision from the bible. There was a sheet that was handed out so as you listen you fill in the blanks. ( I attached the sheet I completed) I thought this was very convenient because it makes you pay attention and have something to do other than sitting down. He was reading about the Provision of the Vision and relating it to financial difficulties and how God is always there for you. After, I talked to one priest to get a better background of Christianity. I related what he said to the reading of ‘Christianity’ we did earlier in September. When he spoke to me, he said that they believe in one god, but that includes the father, son, holy spirit, He said Jesus died for us on a cross for the sins of the

The Brentwood Baptist Church is not a church that I have had any previous experience with. I had the opportunity to attend the Brentwood Baptist Church while on vacation in Tennessee. First, I chose to attend a Baptist church based on the fact that my children’s father attended a Baptist church throughout his childhood which would allow my children to have an experience in a Baptist church. The second contributing factor in the choice was the size of this particular church. Although our home church is the largest church in our hometown the Brentwood Baptist Church is much larger than our home church. The third contributing factor of the choice was the close proximity of the church to the resort that I was at.

Mid-sentence the pastor interrupted himself and said, “Let us pray”, without giving us time to prepare we began praying. This sporadic praying happened many a times during the meeting. Also, I have never heard the phrase “can I get an amen?” taken so seriously. The pastor would sometimes wait for the audience to say amen and if no one would, his response to silence was, “SAY AMEN”. To me it came off forceful and demanding, but the rest of them seemed to be used to it. Like I mentioned before, there was no program or itinerary handed out. The meeting seemed very unorganized, which is different from what I am used to. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Going to a baptist church was a bit different. A lot of our beliefs were the same though! For example, we both believe that Jesus Chris performed the greatest act of the atonement (died for our sins). As well as, the resurrection of Christ. They study in the Old Testament and the New Testament like me (although we use different versions). The message of the meeting seemed to be to make it to heaven. That was their happiness. To make it to heaven, they are to follow the commandments given to them by their God, and live their life

At the main service we started with a prayer. And then we sang a few songs and listened to the sermon. The sermon was about how no matter how broken we are God will accept us. After that we ended the sermon concluded with a few songs and went home. Overall I really enjoyed the experience at Frazer it was very nice and they had some really good points. But one thing that I didn't really like was the fact that it wasn't really personal like I like the Church service to be. The next service I attended was First Baptists Sunday service when I first got there I knew almost every single person the people that were there were mostly Trinity people and some the people were from other schools but I still knew most of them. The first thing that happened was they had a free breakfast for anyone who wanted it. The first thing we did was talk about the wednesday service and what they did at the Wednesday evidently that Wednesday they talked about being fit for God. So after we sang a few songs we went to the Sunday School. The person who hosted the Sunday school class was

The church we attended was a traditional African American church and far from open-minded. That is why I chose to observe Expressions Church. Although, Expressions Church and my church is of the same religion, I knew it would be different. My experience at Expressions church was interesting, not because of the religious things that was mentioned but just about everything else. The church is not in a traditional chapel, it is located in a building on the North West side of Oklahoma City. After arriving I immediately noticed flyers on the front door for free HIV testing and dates. Upon entering the church I quickly felt like an outsider but still tried my best to be as open as

The music took up a good amount of time of the service and it really kept me engaged, mainly because I really enjoy music. The lyrics were projected onto the screen. I really enjoyed the lyrics being projected, it was very convenient and nice that I was able to follow along even though I am not an active member of the church, being able to follow along with the lyrics made me feel more comfortable. I wasn’t expecting there to be a live band and lyrics projected as an easier way to follow along. I really enjoyed that experience though because it kept me engaged. I used to attend St Paul's Lutheran in Kankakee and I remembered a choir so ultimately that is what I was

Perhaps it was because I’m Catholic and not Pentecostal. Everyone in the sanctuary was moving around and socializing. Members of the church walked to the front of the altar and praised by the means of the Holy Spirit. It was a lot the different than my church but it was really a great experience. The members of the church raise their hands, kneel to god, and speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues simply means speaking to God in a way that they don’t understand themselves because the Holy Spirit fills their body. Another thing that was different about this church was the choir. Their choir was amazing and every selection they sung made me feel good inside. I got chills from some of the notes they hit. This church was very prompt and orderly. It started with a prayer from one of the Deacons of the church. The deacon openly asked the congregation for prayer requests and testimonies. One young lady gave a testimony about how she wanted to thank God for letting her see another day and healing her from cancer. It was also a special service honoring the Olive Branch Police Department. I’ve never seen anything like that during a church service, it was really amazing and touching. Another thing they did that was uncommon to me was an altar call. Towards the end of the service Elder Shannon called for an altar call. Altar call is when the members of the church go up to the altar for prayer.

My analysis of the service was that it was not comparable to the typical Baptist style of worship service that I was familiar with at my church. I also notice that Holy Community Church was not on a schedule, as most

He introduced himself and told me where to find a Torah. After he continued to welcome the other guests, I felt a little isolated because no one else seemed to be very welcoming and willing to speak to me. This was a little upsetting because I thought they would be more welcoming to guests, and hope that they would come back for the next service. I didn’t let it bother me too much though, and I went inside and grabbed a Torah and sat down. Right away, I noticed that the church had many stained-glass windows, that were filled with beautiful mosaics of the Star of David. This I very similar to my church, because we have many stained-glass windows too. So because of the similar setting and looks of the room, I felt more comfortable with the situation once I sat down. I was surprised to see that everyone seemed to be very casually dressed, although, some people wore small, circular, flat hats on their head, which I later found out were called Yakama’s. I also noticed that there were many people of different races. I guess I had just assumed that there would only be Jew’s, and I never considered the fact that other races can practice the Jewish religion. So, other than not wearing a Yakama, I never felt out of place, or like a minority, due to my race or how I was dressed. I also never felt like a minority due to my sexual beliefs. Sexual preferences never really came up

However, I did not feel as bad when I noticed other CBU students arriving at the same time as well. We sat down towards the back of the auditorium where the exit door was. After we sat down, the church members began to pray and worship. One specific difference that I noticed between this service and mine is how close the church members stood together. I was not sure if that is cultural or just an individual characteristic of that church. I could tell some of the other CBU students were uncomfortable when the church members began to crowd close to them in order to make more

We had just moved across town from League City, Texas to Cypress, Texas, and my husband Mark and just moved his business from Downtown, Texas to Cypress, Texas. And this is the part where God was working, as we were seeking the place where He wanted us to be. I had been talking with my sister, who was helping me settle into our new house, and telling her that we were interested in finding a non-denominational church, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if it could be close by. While my sister was reading the “subdivision newsletter”, and this was all taking place while we were talking about where to attend church, she jumped out of the chair she was sitting in, ran over to me and said, “Bunnie, here is the church you are looking for, it is right in the neighborhood”. Of course, I was so excited, and promptly told my husband we have to go and check this church out. So, that Sunday we went to what started out as Fairfield Christian Fellowship, and today is known as Fountain of Life Church of God, pastored by John and Kerry LaLonde. The church met at that time in the pastor’s home, so it was a smaller church body, with about 30 people in attendance that particular Sunday. Everyone was welcoming and friendly, the praise and worship was wonderful, the uncompromised word of God preached, that is when we knew this is where God wanted

We eventually left that church and became members of the United Methodist Church in Campbell, which was headed by a husband and wife pastor team. They were lovely people, but

I guess what they say is true, that you cannot judge a book by its cover. When I first walked in the doors, there are people waiting to greet me with a handshake and a smile. It’s not a fake smile either; I could really tell they were happy I was there. Then I went up the stairs and there were more people waiting to greet me, only this time I received hugs as well as the handshakes and smiles. As time passed on, I decided to become a member. I really feel wanted, love, and accepted. The people of this church family I am apart of really and truly care about everyone that walks in the doors. They even take time out of their schedules to host a community lunch once a month and they have people who volunteer at Pikeville Medical Center, to talk and pray with the cancer patients. That is just two of the many ministries that I can get involved in there.